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(CNN) -- Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller have been allowed to leave North Korea "and are on their way home," the U.S.
North Korea releases American detainees Kenneth Bae, Matthew Miller
updated 1:22 PM EST, Sat November 8, 2014
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Kenneth Bae's sister: Family had been crying for joy, spreading the good news
- Kenneth Bae had been detained since 2012, Matthew Miller since last April
- Source: North Korea contacted U.S. out of the blue, asked for a top U.S. official
- Director of National Intelligence James Clapper traveled to Pyongyang
The pair were released
after a rare, last-second trip by a top American official -- U.S.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper -- to Pyongyang as an
envoy of President Barack Obama, a senior State Department official told
CNN.
This came after North
Korea contacted the U.S. government out of the blue and urged the
administration to send a Cabinet-level official to North Korea's capital
to discuss the detained Americans, according to two sources close to
the matter.
Clapper ended up
canceling an event in New York on Wednesday as the trip was being
arranged, an Obama administration official said. He went to Pyongyang
"prepared to listen" on other issues, but that his sole focus was to
bring Bae and Miller home, according to the same official.
In fact, an official in
Clapper's office said the talks didn't even touch on North Korea's
controversial nuclear program. And other U.S. officials said there was
no "quid pro quo" for the men's release.
Former detainee's advice: Keep the faith
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Expand: The photos N. Korea banned
U.S. detainees faced 'bizarre' charges
In a statement Saturday,
Clapper's office said the U.S. government is facilitating the two men's
return home, though it was not immediately clear when they would arrive
back in the United States.
While there was no
immediate reaction from Miller's family, Bae's sister Terri Chung told
CNN that her family spent Saturday morning doing a lot of crying for joy
and spreading the good news among relatives and friends.
Obama himself expressed
appreciation for Clapper's efforts "on what was obviously a challenging
mission" and happiness Bae and Miller will soon be home.
"It's a wonderful day for them and their families," the President said.
Another American let go weeks earlier
The Americans' departure
from North Korea comes less than a month after North Korea released
Jeffrey Fowle, an Ohio man who spent five months in detention. North Korean authorities took Fowle into custody after he left a Bible at a club in the northern part of the country.
Bae had been held since
late 2012, and in April 2013 was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for
"hostile acts" against the North Korean government. North Korea claimed
that Bae was part of a Christian plot to overthrow the regime.
The Lynwood, Washington,
resident operated a China-based company specializing in tours of North
Korea, according to family members, who have described him as a devout
Christian.
Earlier this year, Bae
-- who was transferred to a hospital last year -- told a Swedish
diplomat that he was worried about his health.
Miller had been detained
since April. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, he
was convicted in September of committing "acts hostile" to North Korea
and sentenced to six years of hard labor. He's been accused of tearing
up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry into North Korea.
In September, all three
Americans then detained in North Korea -- Bae, Fowle and Miller --
talked with CNN in Pyongyang for about five minutes apiece.
All said they'd signed statements admitting their guilt, did not complain about their living conditions and asked for U.S. help.
The interviews -- which
CNN learned about only after being shuttled on a van to a secret
location -- were monitored and recorded by North Korean officials.
Talking Saturday, Fowle
said that he'd been "upset" when he learned his fellow American
detainees weren't going home with him last month.
"Kenneth Bae and Matthew
Miller should have been released before I was," Fowle told CNN. "But
I'm glad to hear that they're on their way home now."
Ex-diplomat: North Korea may want to thaw U.S. relations
CNN could not
independently confirm details of the three Americans' detention or other
facts about their cases, in part because of the secrecy that defines
much of North Korea's dealings with the world.
That includes the
Communist nation's much-maligned quest to develop nuclear weapons,
something that has put it at odds with the United States, South Korea
and many other countries around the world. North Korea has been subject
to stringent international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear
aspirations.
The State Department official said that Bae and Miller's release is "unrelated" to other U.S. issues involving North Korea.
The United States
welcomes the move, but if North Korea wants a better relationship with
the world it needs to "show it is serious and prepared to abide by its
commitments, particularly concerning denuclearization," the official
said. "And they must take significant steps to improve their human
rights record."
Yet Gordon Chang, the
author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World," opines
something must have changed in Pyongyang's philosophy to justify
releasing three American detainees in less than a month.
"I think right now there is a charm offensive," Chang told CNN.
Bill Richardson, a
former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who tried to win Bae's
release during a 2013 visit to North Korea, echoed that view, saying,
"They are sending a message to the United States that 'we're ready to
talk.'"
He added that no
decision this big would have been made without the OK of Kim Jong Un,
who took over as North Korea's absolute leader following the death of
his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011.
"It appears that it is a
good move by the North Koreans to restart the North Korean-American
relationship, which has been in a really deep freeze," said Richardson.
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